Australia’s newest coal plants, including ‘supercritical’ or so-called ‘High Efficiency, Low Emissions’ generators, have higher breakdown rates per gigawatt than older power stations, according to new research from The Australia Institute’ Climate & Energy Program.

“Australia already has supercritical coal plants. They break down even more often, gigawatt for gigawatt, than our old clunker coal plants,” says Richie Merzian, Director of The Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program.

“These new supercritical coal plants are touted by proponents as ‘High Efficiency, Low Emissions’ (HELE) coal plants, but this could not be further from the truth.

A number of federal and state politicians and mining industry groups have called for new supercritical or ultra-supercritical coal-fired power stations to be built in the National Electricity Market (NEM).

Data from The Australia Institute’s Gas & Coal Watch shows that coal plants are unreliable and prone to break downs – as they have dozens of times since the Institute began monitoring in 2017.

Furthermore, of Australia’s black coal plants, the supercritical plants have performed worse than subcritical plants relative to generating capacity, despite being newer.

The first National Energy Emissions Audit of 2019 shows renewable energy displacing black coal power generation for the first time, as part of the largest ever year-on-year growth in renewables generation the NEM has seen.

The Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program has released the latest National Energy Emissions Audit covering emissions in the electricity sector for the previous month.

The wasteful structure of private competition in the electricity sector is costing every Australian household over $200 per year, according to new research from The Australia Institute.

As heatwaves across Australia heighten concern for high electricity prices as households try and stay cool, new research shows the problem in electricity pricing is structural and the Prime Minister’s proposed ‘big stick’ approach to breaking up electricity companies will likely exacerbate the problem, rather than fix it.

Adelaide could experience nearly three times as many extreme heat days over 35 degrees by 2090, as well as 600% more days over 40 degrees, unless comprehensive action is undertaken to tackle global warming, according to new analysis from The Australia Institute’s HeatWatch initiative.

The report, from The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program, uses CSRIO-BoM modelling to show how areas in and around Adelaide will get hotter, more regularly, if the government fails to act on reducing carbon emissions.

Increasing extreme heat will have profound impacts on people, industries and ecosystems in Adelaide. CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology projections estimate that the average number of days over 35 could increase by 180% without strong climate policies, from historical averages of 18–25 days per year up to 51–69 days per year by 2090.

A new report from The Australia Institute’s Climate and Energy Program has shown the Senate crossbench’s role in preventing the Coalition Government from abolishing three renewable energy policies (The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, ARENA and the Renewable Energy Target) resulted in $23.4 billion worth of investment in renewable energy, from 2013–2018.

The ‘Saved by the bench’ report is being released in conjunction with Australia Institute polling* which shows that a majority of Australians believe the country is better off because of the Senate and that better laws are created when the government has to negotiate with other parties

The Australia Institute released new research showing the Senate crossbench safeguarded $23.4 billion worth of investment in renewable energy, from 2013–2018, when it prevented the Coalition Government from abolishing three renewable energy policies (The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, ARENA and the Renewable Energy Target).

The ‘Saved by the bench’ report is being released in conjunction with Australia Institute polling which shows that a majority of Australians believe the country is better off because of the Senate and that better laws are created when the government has to negotiate with other parties.

The Australia Institute asked 661 South Australians a series of questions about electric vehicles.

The Australia Institute conducted a state wide survey of 661 South Australians people 3 August and 15 August 2018, online through Research Now. Results were post-weighted to match South Australian demographics by gender and age, according to 2016 census data.

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The Australia Institute is the country’s most influential progressive think tank. We conduct research on a broad range of economic, social and environmental issues in order to inform public debate and bring greater accountability to the democratic process.